Solar eclipses happen once every 18 months. It last only for a few minutes.
Why Does NASA Study Eclipses?
Hundreds of years ago, when people observed the moon during an eclipse, they discovered that the shape of Earth is round. Even after all these years, scientists are still learning about the moon from lunar eclipses. In December 2011, NASA鈥檚 Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter gathered data about how quickly the moon鈥檚 day side (the side that always faces Earth) cools during a lunar eclipse. NASA can learn what the moon's surface is made of from this data. If an area of the moon's surface is flat, it will cool quickly. Scientists use this data to know which areas of the moon are rough with boulders and which are flat.